


The Heirloom

by Ink_Gypsy



Series: Grandmother Wood Universe [2]
Category: LOTR RPS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-25
Updated: 2010-02-25
Packaged: 2017-10-07 13:26:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sean and Elijah receive an unexpected gift from Elijah's grandmother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heirloom

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Waymeet Good Housekeeping Challenge, February 2008. This is part of the Grandmother Wood universe. It takes place after The Wisdom of Frodo, but before All That Matters.

[](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v110/InkGypsy/?action=view&current=TheHeirloomGraphic.jpg)

It was the first thing Sean saw when he stepped through the front door into the living room, partly due to its size -- it had to be three feet high and at least a foot and a half across -- and party because of its sheer ugliness.

It was a clock, that much was obvious, even though whoever had made it had done their best to disguise the fact. Its face, a small circle with white hands and white Roman numerals instead of traditional numbers, was almost hidden by the abundance of carvings decorating the base. Perched on the very top was a buck's head, complete with the tallest antlers Sean had ever seen. A pair of muskets crossed right below the buck, and on each side of the clock face was a pair of the hunter's kills: a rabbit, and some type of fowl, possibly a pheasant. A representation of a fringed leather pouch decorated the bottom of the clock, the kind of thing a frontier hunter might use to carry powder and flint, and wound halfway around the clock face was what looked like the Horn of Gondor. In fact, Sean thought as he looked at the horrific thing, if it wasn't that muskets hadn't existed in Middle Earth, the clock could easily have hung on Boromir's wall, and even there it would have had Sean questioning the late Captain's taste.

One place it certainly didn't belong was on the wall of a Venice beach house, and luckily, Elijah hadn't hung it there, hadn't hung it anywhere, and Sean dearly hoped he wouldn't. At the moment, the love of his life had it sitting on the coffee table. From the box and packing that littered the floor, it looked as if Elijah had just opened the package it had obviously arrived in. He was reading from a piece of paper he held in his hand, and when he looked up and saw Sean, announced, "It's..."

_Grotesque_ would have been Sean's description of choice, but before he could voice his opinion, Elijah finished his sentence and had Sean biting his tongue to hold back the word.

"...from Gram."

"Your grandmother sent this to you?" Sean asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice.

"Yes," Elijah confirmed. He consulted the paper. "It's a housewarming gift."

"But you didn't just move in," Sean protested.

"_I_ didn't," Elijah agreed, "but _you_ did."

And was he now being punished for it? Sean wondered. They'd hit it off right away, gotten along so well that he'd been sure Elijah's Gram had liked him, but now he had to question his earlier opinion. No one would send something this ugly to someone they liked.

"So?" Sean asked tentatively. "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding?" Elijah replied with far too much enthusiasm. "It's fucking--"

Sean held his breath.

"--hideous." Elijah looked at him questioningly. "Why? Do _you_ like it?"

Sean exhaled. "No, but I didn't want to say so until I knew how you felt about it. It _is_ a gift from your grandmother."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change how ugly it is."

Relieved, Sean asked, "Did she say anything about it?"

Elijah nodded and waved the paper he was holding. "Gram sent a letter with it." He read further and told Sean, "Unbelievable. Someone actually gave this thing to her and Gramps as a wedding gift."

Sean grimaced. "Obviously not someone who considered them friends."

Elijah took time to finish the letter then made a face. "Shit. It was from Gramp's parents." He shook his head in disbelief. "Who knew my ancestors on the Wood side of the family had such horrendous taste?"

Sean shrugged. "It was a different time," he said by way of explanation. "People's ideas of what was attractive then aren't the same as now." He hesitated, then asked, "Did your grandmother like it?"

Elijah snorted as if he couldn't believe the question. "Fuck no!"

"Then she kept it to keep peace in the family," Sean surmised. "Probably put it somewhere no one would see it, like the basement or the attic."

Elijah shook his head. "Nope. She hung it on their bedroom wall."

"You're joking," Sean said. He could only imagine the shock it would be to wake up and see that monstrosity first thing every morning. "Why would she do that?"

Elijah grinned and held out the letter. "Read for yourself."

Sean took the paper from him and read aloud:  


> _"I was appalled when I saw it. Truth be told, your grandfather didn't like the thing any more than I did, but he didn't want to offend his family so he insisted we keep it. His mother swore it was some kind of heirloom, but I never believed it, and even if it was, I'd never seen anything uglier in my life and I certainly didn't want it in my house._

  


> _Your grandfather and I had our first big fight about it, yelling at each other loud enough to wake the neighbors. I actually locked him out of the bedroom, made him sleep downstairs on the couch, but I felt so guilty that in the middle of the night I went down to ask him to come up to bed. He hadn't been able to sleep either, so we apologized to each other, kissed and made up right there on the couch, and we never did go back upstairs to bed."_

  
Sean looked up from the letter with a smile. "I really like your Gram, Elijah."

Elijah wrinkled his nose. "It's gross thinking about your grandparents having make-up sex -- or _any_ kind of sex -- but I guess it's kind of cool, too, knowing how much they loved each other."

Sean said, "So your grandmother decided not only to keep the clock, but to hang it in their bedroom as a reminder of the fight. Then they promised each other they'd never go to bed angry, and that they'd never let anything come between them again."

"It must have worked," Elijah said. "She and Gramps were married for over fifty years when he died."

Sean returned to the letter and read the last part aloud:  


> _"I want you boys to have it now, in hopes you'll be as happy as your grandfather and I were."_

  
"It's a beautiful story, Elijah," Sean said when he'd finished, "and it was a very lovely thing for your grandmother to do."

Elijah looked thoughtful. "I know you think it's an eyesore," he began, "but I'm going to keep the clock anyway, just because Gram gave it to us." Anticipating Sean's protest, he added, "Don't worry, Irish, you won't have to look at it. I don't think Gram will ever come for a visit, so I'm just going to pack it up again and put it in storage."

"I have a better place for it," Sean suggested.

"Yeah?" Elijah asked with interest. "Where?"

"I think you should hang it on the wall in our bedroom."

Elijah's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you serious?" After studying Sean's face, he realized that the man was indeed serious. Flashing him a big smile, Elijah said, "I think my Gram would approve of that." He paused, then asked, "Hey Seanie? Even though we didn't argue about the clock, do you think we could still have the make-up sex?"

Sean smiled back at him. "You bet. I think your Gram would approve of _that_, too, but let's do it in bed, okay? I'm getting too old for sex on the couch."

"Fine with me," Elijah agreed. His eyes sparkled mischievously. "Ah...will you need some help getting upstairs, old man?" he asked with a barely-contained smirk. "Or do you think you'll be able to handle the steps all on your own?"

Sean answered him, but Elijah never heard what was said. He was too busy trying to stay ahead of Sean, and giggling like mad as his lover chased him up the stairs.


End file.
